Assignment #3 EDC203 Wiki of Great Langauge Arts Sites
Nicholas Mosher
October 1st 2010
Intermediate Grades
1) Website: British Broadcasting Corporation Game: Penguins on Ice: Make it Interesting URL:http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/games/penguins_on_ice/big_sound/full.shtml Level: 5th Grade Topic: Use of Adjectives and Adverbs Summary of Site: The BBC has amassed a large amount of games that are neatly divided into subject areas. So it can be used for Language arts development or it can be for mathematics or any other subject for kids. The game screen can either be large or small; with or without sound, and the player is given instructions from the penguin in the winter coat through the game. I have to say that this site takes it a step further then many others for children in fourth grade because it actually has animation and make the game look like fun and that it is not just about learning how sentences can be made more interesting. Summary of the Game: The game begins with the penguin instructing the player on what to do and reading the sentence placed on the cards of some penguins that is to be fixed out loud. It is all about adding in the right adjective and making the sentence have more meaning. It throws the unobservant child some curve balls because some of the options held up by other penguins are not adjectives but nouns or verbs. At any point in the game the child can ask for help from the penguin in the corner which will pull up a description identifying what an adjective and an adverb are. Once the child figures out which penguin is holding the right word they click it and drag it into the open spot in line and the sentence is complete. 1. Color- There is not much color in this game as the background is white and the penguins are all the same color as are the cards they hold. But the announcer penguin does make himself known with the bright coat that he wears. 2. Repetition- Make it Interesting only repeats the sentences that are being fixed and the uses of adjectives and adverbs. 3. Talking text- The sentences, instructions, and the uses of adverbs and adjectives are spoken aloud for the player. 4. Visual Cues- The game does not have any visual cues to help the player understand what to do. Only by listening to the instructions can a child know what to do. But when the answer is correct the penguin will spin around and the other penguins will look at the child and blink. 5. Mistakes- It allows a child to make a few mistakes and encourages them to try again but after three or four the correct answer is given without an explanation which does not help the child understand the right answer. 6. Ratings- It does not allow the child to rate the game 7. Highlighted Cues- There are no highlighted cues. 8. Navigation Routine- One cannot move on to the next sentence until the sentence on screen is fixed. 9. Click Back and back (or forward and forward)- You can only move forward after completing a challenge. Moving backwards is not possible. 10. Click and Drag- The game is all about clicking and dragging the correct penguin into place. My Rating: 8
2) Website: GameQuarium Game: Sentence Clubhouse URL:http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/clubhouse/index.html Level: 4th Grade Topic: Sentence Punctuation and Capitalization Summary of Site: Gamequarium is unique in its interesting underwater theme which it keeps with some of its games. It has plenty of graphics to attract a child. Also they have games with popular children's characters like Captain Underpants or Harry Potter. But what is most important is the many language arts and learning games that it has broken down first by grade level and then by subject matter. Summary of Game: Sentence Clubhouse is another game that has not given up on entertaining an older child while they work on learning how different sentences look. The child playing is asked to pick out the different parts of a clubhouse and after they select each part they are given a phrase. They then have to determine whether this phrase is a statement, question, command, or exclamation and then correct the phrase so it has the appropriate capitalization at the beginning and the right punctuation at the end. The child looks at five different phrases to complete the game and their clubhouse. They get to choose from four different styles and can mix and match pieces for a more interesting clubhouse 1. Color- There is no special emphasis on color for this game with the exception of the various parts of the clubhouse which are different styles and colors. 2. Repetition- There is no repetition. 3. Talking text- There is no talking text 4. Visual Cues- The only visual cue comes when the answer is correct and there is a ding to tell the child to correct the sentence. After the crane lets go of that part of the clubhouse making a sound as well. 5. Mistakes- The student has as many tries as they want with this because the game will not give the right answer. 6. Ratings- A child cannot grade the game 7. Highlighted Cues- Every time an answer is correct the instructional text says correct and the crane brings down the piece of the clubhouse the child selected. 8. Navigation Routine- One cannot move on until the correct type of sentence is selected and the sentence is then corrected. 9. Click Back and back (or forward and forward)-The child can move forward with the right answers but cannot go back. 10. Click and Drag- There is plenty of clicking but no dragging. My Rating: 6
3) Website: IKnowThat Game: Rocket Word Tag URL:http://www.iknowthat.com/com/TagAWord?Topic=NounsVerbs Level: 4th Grade Topic: Identifying Nouns and Verbs Summary of Site: IKnowThat is a site that teacher, students, and parents can access to find age appropriate games for kids in preschool to sixth grade. The games are all organized by grade level and then by subject area. And some games even step away from the typical subjects of math, science, and language arts such as games on the arts and social learning. Each game has different difficulty settings and versions that can be played but the extra versions cost a membership, though as an educator it may be worthwhile to invest in this so that one's students can gain access to the varying levels in class. Summary of Game: The game Rocket Word Tag is summed up in its name. The player selects which part of speech they want to identify in a given sentences and the selects the word(s) that fit that selection. In the free version this is only Nouns and Verbs. The user will click a rocket and it will follow the user's mouse until a word is selected. Once all the correct words are identified the sentence, that tells interesting facts about space, breaks apart and the rockets drag their words across the screen in a synchronized dance. Watch out for the rockets as one plays because if a rocket gets to close they explode and the player has to pick a new one. 1. Color- Color is fairly important in this game. Green is the color of the menus and help options. Red is the color used to identify verbs. And Gray identifies the nouns when they are selected in the sentence. 2. Repetition- There is no repetition in the game. 3. Talking Text- There is no talking text in this game. 4. Visual Cues- A visual cue comes when the answer is correct and the rocket stays and the word is underlined. Also the player is given a certain number of nouns and verbs to work with which helps them know when they have found them all. And of course the dancing at the end lets the player know they have completed the level. 5. Mistakes- Mistakes can be made and a sound cue is given when they are wrong but the game will not tell you the answer. 6. Ratings- The game does not allow a child to rate it. 7. Highlighted Cues- Whenever the selection is correct the rocket lands on top of it and the word is underlined. 8. Navigation Routine- The child cannot move on until all of the nouns and verbs have been selected in the sentence. 9. Click Back and back (or forward and forward)- The game does not allow for the player to move forward without finishing the sentence they are working on at the time. And they cannot go back but at the end they can see a summary of the results. 10. Click and Drag- There is lots of clicking with selecting the rockets but they fly themselves so no dragging required. My Rating: 7
Assignment #3 EDC203 Wiki of Great Langauge Arts Sites
Nicholas Mosher
October 1st 2010
Intermediate Grades
1) Website: British Broadcasting Corporation
Game: Penguins on Ice: Make it Interesting
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/games/penguins_on_ice/big_sound/full.shtml
Level: 5th Grade
Topic: Use of Adjectives and Adverbs
Summary of Site: The BBC has amassed a large amount of games that are neatly divided into subject areas. So it can be used for Language arts development or it can be for mathematics or any other subject for kids. The game screen can either be large or small; with or without sound, and the player is given instructions from the penguin in the winter coat through the game. I have to say that this site takes it a step further then many others for children in fourth grade because it actually has animation and make the game look like fun and that it is not just about learning how sentences can be made more interesting.
Summary of the Game: The game begins with the penguin instructing the player on what to do and reading the sentence placed on the cards of some penguins that is to be fixed out loud. It is all about adding in the right adjective and making the sentence have more meaning. It throws the unobservant child some curve balls because some of the options held up by other penguins are not adjectives but nouns or verbs. At any point in the game the child can ask for help from the penguin in the corner which will pull up a description identifying what an adjective and an adverb are. Once the child figures out which penguin is holding the right word they click it and drag it into the open spot in line and the sentence is complete.
1. Color- There is not much color in this game as the background is white and the penguins are all the same color as are the cards they hold. But the announcer penguin does make himself known with the bright coat that he wears.
2. Repetition- Make it Interesting only repeats the sentences that are being fixed and the uses of adjectives and adverbs.
3. Talking text- The sentences, instructions, and the uses of adverbs and adjectives are spoken aloud for the player.
4. Visual Cues- The game does not have any visual cues to help the player understand what to do. Only by listening to the instructions can a child know what to do. But when the answer is correct the penguin will spin around and the other penguins will look at the child and blink.
5. Mistakes- It allows a child to make a few mistakes and encourages them to try again but after three or four the correct answer is given without an explanation which does not help the child understand the right answer.
6. Ratings- It does not allow the child to rate the game
7. Highlighted Cues- There are no highlighted cues.
8. Navigation Routine- One cannot move on to the next sentence until the sentence on screen is fixed.
9. Click Back and back (or forward and forward)- You can only move forward after completing a challenge. Moving backwards is not possible.
10. Click and Drag- The game is all about clicking and dragging the correct penguin into place.
My Rating: 8
2) Website: GameQuarium
Game: Sentence Clubhouse
URL: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/clubhouse/index.html
Level: 4th Grade
Topic: Sentence Punctuation and Capitalization
Summary of Site: Gamequarium is unique in its interesting underwater theme which it keeps with some of its games. It has plenty of graphics to attract a child. Also they have games with popular children's characters like Captain Underpants or Harry Potter. But what is most important is the many language arts and learning games that it has broken down first by grade level and then by subject matter.
Summary of Game: Sentence Clubhouse is another game that has not given up on entertaining an older child while they work on learning how different sentences look. The child playing is asked to pick out the different parts of a clubhouse and after they select each part they are given a phrase. They then have to determine whether this phrase is a statement, question, command, or exclamation and then correct the phrase so it has the appropriate capitalization at the beginning and the right punctuation at the end. The child looks at five different phrases to complete the game and their clubhouse. They get to choose from four different styles and can mix and match pieces for a more interesting clubhouse
1. Color- There is no special emphasis on color for this game with the exception of the various parts of the clubhouse which are different styles and colors.
2. Repetition- There is no repetition.
3. Talking text- There is no talking text
4. Visual Cues- The only visual cue comes when the answer is correct and there is a ding to tell the child to correct the sentence. After the crane lets go of that part of the clubhouse making a sound as well.
5. Mistakes- The student has as many tries as they want with this because the game will not give the right answer.
6. Ratings- A child cannot grade the game
7. Highlighted Cues- Every time an answer is correct the instructional text says correct and the crane brings down the piece of the clubhouse the child selected.
8. Navigation Routine- One cannot move on until the correct type of sentence is selected and the sentence is then corrected.
9. Click Back and back (or forward and forward)- The child can move forward with the right answers but cannot go back.
10. Click and Drag- There is plenty of clicking but no dragging.
My Rating: 6
3) Website: IKnowThat
Game: Rocket Word Tag
URL: http://www.iknowthat.com/com/TagAWord?Topic=NounsVerbs
Level: 4th Grade
Topic: Identifying Nouns and Verbs
Summary of Site: IKnowThat is a site that teacher, students, and parents can access to find age appropriate games for kids in preschool to sixth grade. The games are all organized by grade level and then by subject area. And some games even step away from the typical subjects of math, science, and language arts such as games on the arts and social learning. Each game has different difficulty settings and versions that can be played but the extra versions cost a membership, though as an educator it may be worthwhile to invest in this so that one's students can gain access to the varying levels in class.
Summary of Game: The game Rocket Word Tag is summed up in its name. The player selects which part of speech they want to identify in a given sentences and the selects the word(s) that fit that selection. In the free version this is only Nouns and Verbs. The user will click a rocket and it will follow the user's mouse until a word is selected. Once all the correct words are identified the sentence, that tells interesting facts about space, breaks apart and the rockets drag their words across the screen in a synchronized dance. Watch out for the rockets as one plays because if a rocket gets to close they explode and the player has to pick a new one.
1. Color- Color is fairly important in this game. Green is the color of the menus and help options. Red is the color used to identify verbs. And Gray identifies the nouns when they are selected in the sentence.
2. Repetition- There is no repetition in the game.
3. Talking Text- There is no talking text in this game.
4. Visual Cues- A visual cue comes when the answer is correct and the rocket stays and the word is underlined. Also the player is given a certain number of nouns and verbs to work with which helps them know when they have found them all. And of course the dancing at the end lets the player know they have completed the level.
5. Mistakes- Mistakes can be made and a sound cue is given when they are wrong but the game will not tell you the answer.
6. Ratings- The game does not allow a child to rate it.
7. Highlighted Cues- Whenever the selection is correct the rocket lands on top of it and the word is underlined.
8. Navigation Routine- The child cannot move on until all of the nouns and verbs have been selected in the sentence.
9. Click Back and back (or forward and forward)- The game does not allow for the player to move forward without finishing the sentence they are working on at the time. And they cannot go back but at the end they can see a summary of the results.
10. Click and Drag- There is lots of clicking with selecting the rockets but they fly themselves so no dragging required.
My Rating: 7